Gwich’in

Gwich’in, a group of Athabaskan-speaking North American Indian tribes inhabiting the basins of the Yukon and Peel rivers in eastern Alaska and Yukon—a land of coniferous forests interspersed with open, barren ground. The name Gwich’in, meaning “people,” is given collectively to an indefinite number of distinct American Subarctic peoples, there being no precise agreement among authorities on whom to include under this cover name, which is as much linguistic as cultural.

In traditional Gwich’in social organization, men became chiefs by demonstrating leadership or prowess in hunting or war. Men’s major pursuits included battle, fishing, and hunting caribou, moose, and other game. Women’s pursuits included making nearly all household goods, gathering wild plant foods, and transporting their families and material possessions during frequent moves from one camp to another.

The Gwich’in people’s most influential neighbours were the Eskimo, or Inuit, with whom they traded and fought and from whom they borrowed such cultural traits as tailored caribou-skin clothing (most conspicuously, the Eskimo hood and mittens), various hunting weapons, and the sled. They also shared many customs with tribes to the south and east—painting their faces and hair, wearing feathers as hair ornaments, and decorating their clothing with fringes and beads. Gwich’in houses were domed structures of poles and fir boughs, banked with snow in winter and ventilated by a smoke hole at the top. Little is known of Gwich’in religion or beliefs, but they were well known for their feasts, games (especially wrestling), singing, and dancing.

Early 21st-century population estimates indicated more than 4,500 individuals of Gwich’in descent.